Welcome to Wonderland…
Chapter Five: Lions, Tigers, and Barry…Oh my!
Chris and Jill walked side by side through the forest with a new kick in their step. Thanks to the information that Brad and Edward had given the two, Jill was getting closer to be able to go home and get far away from this weird, storybook land. But there were some questions that were unanswered that Jill didn't understand. Who the hell was this Goblin King and why was he so important? And why was Chris so bent on helping her out?
Now that she thought about it, she realized that this Chris was really charming and kind of boyish, just like the Chris she knew back in reality. Even though she was only in this weird place for such a little time, this Chris was right by her side and willing to help her out.
"Jill?" Chris asked, breaking Jill's train of thought. "Are you alright?"
Jill looked at Chris for a moment before nodding her head. "Uh-huh. I'm fine, don't worry."
Chris studied her face for a few moments and then smiled at her. "If you say so."
The two walked silently for a few moments. Then Chris looked at Jill.
"I think we're starting to get close to the labyrinth those two were talking about," Chris said. "I mean…the forest is beginning to thin out a lot now and I'm beginning to smell something other than forest."
Now that Chris mentioned it, the trees were really becoming less of a mass and more spaced out. There was still some shade, but the sun was beginning to become more prominent. And she did begin to smell something other than grass, flowers and trees. But the smell wasn't as pleasant and began to smell like a filthy sock that just came out of the boy's locker room after gym class in high school. Probably the goblins, Jill guessed. Hell, the castle was probably roaming with them creepy things since the person who lived in the castle WAS the Goblin King.
"You're probably right," Jill said, shuttering a little at the thought of a goblin. She remembered when she was a little kid and was reading a story about goblins. They were ugly, short, dirty-looking people wearing patchy clothing who had a knack for pissing off people.
"Hey Chris, can I ask you something?" Jill asked.
Chris looked at her and smiled his signature boyish smile. "Yeah, what is it Jill?"
"Have you ever met the Goblin King?"
Chris' eyes and his face faltered a little at her question. Then, he instantly perked up and answered. "Yeah, once. He was kind of a jerk, that's for sure, and I was glad to get out of there."
"Did he do something that pissed you off or something?"
"Yeah…something like that."
"Do you want to tell me?"
Chris sighed and then looked down at the ground. He smiled a little shyly and played with his thumbs. "Well, I'm sure you're not exactly into hearing me babble about it. I mean, it's kind of a boring story."
"No! I want to hear it!" Jill protested. "I won't think it's boring. I promise."
Chris looked up at her face. Jill sighed and brushed her short brown hair out of her face.
"What do you want me to do to make you tell me?" Jill asked sheepishly.
A sly smile appeared on Chris' face at the question. "Well…you can give me a kiss, not on the cheek! On the lips."
Jill looked at him with a brow-raised expression on her face. Then she turned her head away from his, a small blush appearing on her face.
"Well…uh, you see…I guess, ahem, that I'll be fine without an answer," She mumbled.
Chris' smiled widened into a sly grin. "Are you afraid to kiss me or something?"
Jill looked at him, her face reddening even more. "No!"
"Admit it Jill!" Chris said. "Do I frighten you or something?"
What's wrong with me?! Now I'm acting like a freaking teenager! Pull it together Valentine…
"No you don't!" Jill shouted back, her voice trembling a little.
"Then why don't you just do it?" Chris said in a devious tone. He was having too much fun pulling her leg. And she looked really cute when she's embarrassed. "Prove it to me Jilly Bean."
He's not going to stop until you do it…Just pucker up and get it over with. Think of it this way! He's not the real Chris, he's not real partner so you won't have any repercussions afterward.
Jill gulped and got closer to Chris, closer than she already was. She puckered up her lips and Chris did the same. The two inching closer…and closer…and closer, so close that both of their lips almost touched each other-
A mighty roar boomed out, interrupting the two from what they were about to do. The roar was so sudden; Jill screamed at the sound and jumped into Chris' arms.
"What the hell was that?" Jill said quietly.
"I think it was a bear," Chris said in the same quiet tone.
"A bear?" Jill's voice dropped to a whisper. "You mean…it might be the bear that escaped from the circus?"
"It might be," Chris said. "All the other bears are usually friendly and don't roar like that. Remember when I told you that the circus bear went on a rampage and became feral? That was a feral roar. So that must mean-"
"You can't be serious…" Jill muttered darkly.
"I wish I wasn't," Chris said, looking down at her as she was still in his arms.
Out of the bushes, came a large, muscular bear with red fur. He had on a red plaid vest that had been ripped at the sleeves. The bear pawed at the ground with its massive paws.
"Yep…That's the circus bear alright!" Chris said as he looked at the bear. "I wish I remembered what his name was though…it started with a "B" or something."
"T-that's the circus bear?" Jill said in a high-pitched frightened voice. The bear looked like he belonged in a zoo more than a circus! He was huge, built like a truck. But, for some odd reason, he did seem to have the "teddy-bear" like aura floating around him. He just looked angry on the outside, but seemed like a fluffy lovable guy on the inside.
"Maybe it's Bobo!" Chris shouted.
Jill glared at him. "That's not working…and could you let go of me please?"
Chris muttered sorry and let go of her.
"Do you think the bear can talk since everything else can talk in this weird place?" Jill asked Chris.
"It's worth a shot," Chris said with a shrug. "Hey, bear-boy! What's your problem?!"
"I don't think that'll work Chr-"
"Who you calling "bear-boy" squirt?" The bear bellowed in a gruff voice.
Jill realized the voice right away. Then she looked over the bear once more. The vest DID look awfully familiar…
"Barry?" Jill asked. "Barry is that you?"
"Barry!" Chris shouted cheerfully. "That's the circus bear's name! Barry, the Gun Juggling, Ball-Balancing, Rocket Launching Bear!"
"That's former Gun Juggling, Ball-Balancing, Rocket Launching Bear to you!" Barry shouted in a disgruntled voice to Chris. He looked at Jill. "And who are you? I've never seen you in this place before…"
"I'm Jill! Jill Valentine! Don't you remember me Barry?"
Barry walked up to her and sniffed her. "No…I've never seen you before." He turned his gaze to Chris. "But I've seen this clown before. Chris used to be my buddy before the circus captured me. He tried to bust me out of there…that didn't work. We haven't seen each other in a year."
"Were you always a bear?" Jill asked.
"No," Barry replied. "The Goblin King turned me into one because I didn't pay his stupid taxes. I was too embarrassed to go home to my wife and two kids so I went to the forest. That was when I met Chris and then the circus captured me. Chris tried to break me out, got his ass kicked pretty good and flew the coop."
"Make me sound like a bad guy, why don't you…" Chris muttered.
Barry looked at him and snarled. "You left me alone for a year…I went insane! I broke out of there and came back to the forest, just so I can find you and kick your ass to the moon."
Chris rolled his eyes at the bear.
Jill looked at the two. Testosterone was definitely in the air and Jill was not going to have the two get involved with a hand-to-paw brawl. But thankfully, she had a plan.
Jill glared at the two. "Listen…I have a plan and if both of you don't get along and listen, I'll kick both of your asses into next year."
Barry and Chris gave each other worried glances and then looked at Jill.
"Good…alright. I know both of you are on a strained relationship and are begging to get at each other's throats. But listen, maybe you both can work together and we can go to the Goblin King together."
"What's in it for me?" Barry asked.
"We can try to get your humanity back. I'm sure you miss your wife and kids very much."
Barry looked at the ground and shuffled his paws in the dirt. Then he looked up at Jill.
"Fine…I'll go with you," Barry muttered. "But you better promise that I'll become human again."
"It's a deal! Are you okay with it Chris?"
Chris shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Jill smiled and nodded. "Good. Now let's go."
-And the trio walked on through the forest. It was only a few minutes when Chris' cheerful voice broke the silence.
"There it is! There's the labyrinth and the castle!"
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! ^^ I'd like to wish a special thanks to my readers and reviewers. You guys are great! I'd also like to thank my cats Carl and Patch for keeping me enterained as I wrote this. You guys are so funny! :D
Anyways, please review and I'd greatly appreicate it if there are no flames. Thank you all.
